The Express Tribune’s science, tech and non-human development stream
What’s popping in science and tech?
Science just pulled a Rick Sanchez — 3D-printed skin that heals like the real thing
“Aw jeez, Rick, they’ve gone and printed skin now!”
No joke — Swedish researchers have 3D-printed artificial skin that can actually grow its own blood vessels. Think less lab coats, more Rick’s garage vibes.
Here’s how it works: they cooked up a “bio-ink” where skin cells kick back on gelatin beanbags, spitting out collagen like it’s space goo. Then they 3D-printed hydrogel strands that dissolve into tiny tunnels — basically blood-flow portals waiting to be activated.
Why it matters: regular skin grafts are like patching up a spaceship with duct tape — they hold, they work, but they’re not the perfect fix. This new tech could mean grafts that heal faster, scar less, and behave more like the real thing.
Still only in mice for now, but if science keeps leveling up like this, we’re not too far from “interdimensional wound healing.”
Martian Mud Might Be Alive: NASA’s Latest Discovery Stirs Debate
NASA’s Perseverance rover just turned over a rock—well, a whole mudstone—that could rewrite cosmic history.
Before you celebrate: no, NASA hasn’t found alien microbes waving hello. What they have found are redox reactions—the same kind of chemical energy trades that, here on Earth, microbes use to stay alive.
Joel Hurowitz, PhD—geosciences professor at Stony Brook University and lead author of the new paper—explains that these reactions could be plain chemistry. But here’s the kicker: their observations in Mars’ Bright Angel formation don’t line up neatly with a purely non-biological explanation. The iron, sulfur, and phosphorus-bearing nodules, plus those reaction fronts, might be a biosignature—a potential fingerprint of ancient life.
This discovery doesn’t close the case for life on Mars—but it sure makes the Red Planet look less dead and a lot more interesting.
Guiding drivers though the chaos (by blinding them in one eye)
I’m getting ever closer to getting Vegeta’s ‘scouter’ from Dragon Ball Z (DBZ).
Augmented Reality (AR) glasses have been a thing for a while, but Amazon is reportedly rolling out AR glasses for 100 ‘000 delivery drivers. While we’re still at least a year away from Amazon releasing these glasses — codenamed JayHawk — to the public, these glasses are supposed to have microphones, speakers, and a camera, and most importantly, a full-color display in one eye.
Now don’t get me wrong, this is pretty cool, but I’m a bit skeptical on how they’re going to implement this in an unobtrusive way for driving. We wouldn’t want driver’s half blind running into people’s mailboxes while making deliveries.
Personally, I can’t wait to LARP as a DBZ character when these do come out. Hoping Bezos comes out with a monocle version.
Another app bites the dust
A terrible day for Android users: Microsoft’s pulling the plug on Outlook Lite on October 6th, ending the app’s short 3 year lifespan.
They’ve been chopping services like this for a while now, with the slated demise of the Lens scanner app in 5 days and the removal of the Editor add-on for Edge and Chrome on October 31st (though that one is going to be built into the browsers themselves).
Microsoft want people to transition to Outlook Mobile instead, as they’re pouring all their investments into that now. I can’t say I care too much about any of this, I have an Android and I don’t think I’ve used Outlook in more than a month. If this affects you, I’m sorry, I’ll play a small violin for you.
AI think, therefore I A.M.
